I have no skin in this game except for having the same rifle as OP. I use Remington 140 grain corlokts and get amazing accuracy so I can only imagine it gets better with hand loads. I've also used H-4895 on my .308 reloads and imagine it would do very well in your 7mm-08. Have to give it a go with mine as I didn't have much time to test before deer season.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
New to reloading - 7mm-08 load pending
- Thread starter Tallest
- Start date
stillquietvoice
New member
tallest
i have a rem 700 sps in 7-08 with a 24" barrel. ive used h4895,imr4895, imr4350, win760 and blc2 with 140 gr nbts, nos partitions sgks, sphsat max or near max loads worked up from min load data from hodgen web site as well as 139 ssts and 160 gamekings.
my rifle unlike yours likes max loads. factory superformance produced sub half in groups at 200.
nosler web site lists a large number of powders tested and lists their most accurate load tested.
.
all rifles are diffetent even ones that are the same model. accuracy is trial and error
out of all the factoru ammo i tried my rem only shot well with superformance ssts.
have fun with your ruger and i hope you find a few one hole loads.
i have a rem 700 sps in 7-08 with a 24" barrel. ive used h4895,imr4895, imr4350, win760 and blc2 with 140 gr nbts, nos partitions sgks, sphsat max or near max loads worked up from min load data from hodgen web site as well as 139 ssts and 160 gamekings.
my rifle unlike yours likes max loads. factory superformance produced sub half in groups at 200.
nosler web site lists a large number of powders tested and lists their most accurate load tested.
.
all rifles are diffetent even ones that are the same model. accuracy is trial and error
out of all the factoru ammo i tried my rem only shot well with superformance ssts.
have fun with your ruger and i hope you find a few one hole loads.
Yosemite Steve
New member
Tallest,
I started reloading with my father's instruction many years ago and would occasionally reload but with limited success because the equipment was in his basement. About a year ago he handed it all over and I now have a new obsession in handloading ammo. An old friend of my dad's is a gun dealer and hobbyist who I called one day to ask for suggestions on working up loads. He has been doing this for 50 some years and is very wise. Here are some tips of his that I will share...
1. Figure out what bullet you want to shoot. This consideration could go on and on... I picked the SST because it has good ballistics, is for hunting and is fairly inexpensive.
2. Spend the money on some good brass. For the time it takes to process brass it's worth the money to save yourself time and peace of mind by getting top quality brass. I bought a box of Nosler. It wasn't cheap but it saved me money in the end. My nosler brass came in a consistent weight and length, was deburred sized and ready to load.
3. Find your lands with the bullet you picked. This means to find the seating depth at which a particular bullet just touches the rifling. Proceed by adjusting in small increments from there to find the amount of jump that your gun likes best. Every bullet type is different and you will need to start with this process fresh with each bullet selection. Understanding seating depth is very beneficial. My favorite articles on the subject: http://www.bergerbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/COAL.pdf https://www.sinclairintl.com/guntech/the-importance-of-bullet-seating-depth/detail.htm?lid=16085 The second link is the process I have been using. Find a powder charge that isn't too hot and stick with that charge through the process of working on your seating depth. From what I have read, most guns like a shorter jump.
4. Once you have the seating depth dialed in you are ready to work up loads in whatever powder you have selected. There is much to read on the subject and I still consider myself a novice when it comes to this so I will not offer anything here. I will say that consistency in how you shoot is key. I actually take a level with me and level my target so that I can see level through the scope. Also, letting your rifle cool off between shots/groups is very important. I have greatly improved my shooting habits since I started handloading because it inspired me to learn.
I started reloading with my father's instruction many years ago and would occasionally reload but with limited success because the equipment was in his basement. About a year ago he handed it all over and I now have a new obsession in handloading ammo. An old friend of my dad's is a gun dealer and hobbyist who I called one day to ask for suggestions on working up loads. He has been doing this for 50 some years and is very wise. Here are some tips of his that I will share...
1. Figure out what bullet you want to shoot. This consideration could go on and on... I picked the SST because it has good ballistics, is for hunting and is fairly inexpensive.
2. Spend the money on some good brass. For the time it takes to process brass it's worth the money to save yourself time and peace of mind by getting top quality brass. I bought a box of Nosler. It wasn't cheap but it saved me money in the end. My nosler brass came in a consistent weight and length, was deburred sized and ready to load.
3. Find your lands with the bullet you picked. This means to find the seating depth at which a particular bullet just touches the rifling. Proceed by adjusting in small increments from there to find the amount of jump that your gun likes best. Every bullet type is different and you will need to start with this process fresh with each bullet selection. Understanding seating depth is very beneficial. My favorite articles on the subject: http://www.bergerbullets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/COAL.pdf https://www.sinclairintl.com/guntech/the-importance-of-bullet-seating-depth/detail.htm?lid=16085 The second link is the process I have been using. Find a powder charge that isn't too hot and stick with that charge through the process of working on your seating depth. From what I have read, most guns like a shorter jump.
4. Once you have the seating depth dialed in you are ready to work up loads in whatever powder you have selected. There is much to read on the subject and I still consider myself a novice when it comes to this so I will not offer anything here. I will say that consistency in how you shoot is key. I actually take a level with me and level my target so that I can see level through the scope. Also, letting your rifle cool off between shots/groups is very important. I have greatly improved my shooting habits since I started handloading because it inspired me to learn.
First, Welcome to the Wonderful World of Rollin' Yer Own!
That's not a fault when dealing with containing 60K psi within a vessel of mixed steel, brass and polymer within a very few inches of your face and fingers ..... doing dumb stuff in handloading can have permanent negative consequences to you or others ..... being hyper observant, especially when just starting out, when you don't know right by habit (and complacency will kick the experienced in the b-hind, too, if they let it: Mr. Murphy is relentless) .... or the Redneck Version: "Bad Things Happen.... Do your level best to make sure it doesn't happen to you and yours." A solid sense of self preservation is a gift ....
That said ..... the 7-08 I load for wasn't intended to go 1/4 mile ....it's a kids' gun (Ruger Frontier- 16" barreled carbine).... the reduced loads have worked well enough for deer and plinking, without inducing flinches in 10-14 year old kids ..... I use a midrange load of IMR4064 ..... losing ~150 f/sec compared to (Remington 140gr CL) factory loads and - Slower powders, (WIN760, H414) listed at the top of most charts .... were abysmal ...... lost much more velocity and produced more flash and recoil (maybe perceived, but the object of the exercise was "Not to scare the kids" and still drop deer .... and we shoot more 7-08 than anything but 5.56 and (only in the last year when it became available again at reasonable prices!) 22lr .... I told you all of that to tell you this: I started rollin' my own in search of the ultimate .270WIN Handload for my rifle ....... much as you are now with your 7-08 .... I learned to make really good ammo for that gun, (in several flavors), yes ..... but in the process, I went from shooting a "couple boxes" (factory) a year to a "couple of boxes" (50-ct MTM every time I had the money and time ..... I have on several occasions handloaded the same 100 cases several times in a DAY shooting at prairie dogs with my deer rifle ...... there is no substitute for trigger time ...... I reached the point that I could sling up and drop into a combat squat, elbows inside knees with my ancient deer rifle and cut a grassrat in half at 300+yards ......yeah ..... that makes ambushing Bambi's Dad in November a chip shot ...... and then the kids started hunting and the mission changed .... and I learned a whole lot more ..... on the the cheap, because I had everything but dies and once fired brass for each new shooter/ballistics interface problem .... the thing I'm getting at is- there is so much more possible than a cliche'd 1moa load .... the Journey is more valuable than the initial destination ...... but maybe that wasn't the "I know how to operate the machinery" take you were seeking ..... where to start? Pick a powder and bullet ..... get a manual (preferably from that bullet manufacturer) read it .... understand all the steps that you will be doing ( there are no stupid questions- this IS the age of Information and Marketing there are folks that get paid to answer ALL your questions about their products ask there) .... ask on places like this forum..... but check everything with your own eyes, equipment (Chronographs are enlightening ......) and good sense ...... Start at the start load ("Words! They mean.... Stuff!"- My 3 (then) year old daughter).... and work up .... be diligent, check everything, including your gut instincts (you'll often be pleasantly surprised).....
...as for folks knocking your "cheap gun" ..... the biggest technical knock I hear against them is that it can't be easily re-barreled ..... OK fine, a new barrel and gunsmithing fees cost more than your gun. I sincerely hope you endeavor to wear it out. "There is no substitute for trigger time, live or dry, live is better."
Burn it up. "Ships are safest in the harbor, but that is not why ships are built." I am contemplating rebarreling my rifle ..... but I have more pressing gun issues for the next 5 years or so ..... it'll do at 2", or even 3" at 100, till then ....... and then in 5 years, when the nest is at last empty, and I've all the time I never had ..... I'll have a whole new problem to solve in the same familiar stock ..... Life is Good....Keep Calm and Reload!
some tell me I observe safety to a fault.
That's not a fault when dealing with containing 60K psi within a vessel of mixed steel, brass and polymer within a very few inches of your face and fingers ..... doing dumb stuff in handloading can have permanent negative consequences to you or others ..... being hyper observant, especially when just starting out, when you don't know right by habit (and complacency will kick the experienced in the b-hind, too, if they let it: Mr. Murphy is relentless) .... or the Redneck Version: "Bad Things Happen.... Do your level best to make sure it doesn't happen to you and yours." A solid sense of self preservation is a gift ....
That said ..... the 7-08 I load for wasn't intended to go 1/4 mile ....it's a kids' gun (Ruger Frontier- 16" barreled carbine).... the reduced loads have worked well enough for deer and plinking, without inducing flinches in 10-14 year old kids ..... I use a midrange load of IMR4064 ..... losing ~150 f/sec compared to (Remington 140gr CL) factory loads and - Slower powders, (WIN760, H414) listed at the top of most charts .... were abysmal ...... lost much more velocity and produced more flash and recoil (maybe perceived, but the object of the exercise was "Not to scare the kids" and still drop deer .... and we shoot more 7-08 than anything but 5.56 and (only in the last year when it became available again at reasonable prices!) 22lr .... I told you all of that to tell you this: I started rollin' my own in search of the ultimate .270WIN Handload for my rifle ....... much as you are now with your 7-08 .... I learned to make really good ammo for that gun, (in several flavors), yes ..... but in the process, I went from shooting a "couple boxes" (factory) a year to a "couple of boxes" (50-ct MTM every time I had the money and time ..... I have on several occasions handloaded the same 100 cases several times in a DAY shooting at prairie dogs with my deer rifle ...... there is no substitute for trigger time ...... I reached the point that I could sling up and drop into a combat squat, elbows inside knees with my ancient deer rifle and cut a grassrat in half at 300+yards ......yeah ..... that makes ambushing Bambi's Dad in November a chip shot ...... and then the kids started hunting and the mission changed .... and I learned a whole lot more ..... on the the cheap, because I had everything but dies and once fired brass for each new shooter/ballistics interface problem .... the thing I'm getting at is- there is so much more possible than a cliche'd 1moa load .... the Journey is more valuable than the initial destination ...... but maybe that wasn't the "I know how to operate the machinery" take you were seeking ..... where to start? Pick a powder and bullet ..... get a manual (preferably from that bullet manufacturer) read it .... understand all the steps that you will be doing ( there are no stupid questions- this IS the age of Information and Marketing there are folks that get paid to answer ALL your questions about their products ask there) .... ask on places like this forum..... but check everything with your own eyes, equipment (Chronographs are enlightening ......) and good sense ...... Start at the start load ("Words! They mean.... Stuff!"- My 3 (then) year old daughter).... and work up .... be diligent, check everything, including your gut instincts (you'll often be pleasantly surprised).....
...as for folks knocking your "cheap gun" ..... the biggest technical knock I hear against them is that it can't be easily re-barreled ..... OK fine, a new barrel and gunsmithing fees cost more than your gun. I sincerely hope you endeavor to wear it out. "There is no substitute for trigger time, live or dry, live is better."
Burn it up. "Ships are safest in the harbor, but that is not why ships are built." I am contemplating rebarreling my rifle ..... but I have more pressing gun issues for the next 5 years or so ..... it'll do at 2", or even 3" at 100, till then ....... and then in 5 years, when the nest is at last empty, and I've all the time I never had ..... I'll have a whole new problem to solve in the same familiar stock ..... Life is Good....Keep Calm and Reload!
Find your lands with the bullet you picked. This means to find the seating depth at which a particular bullet just touches the rifling. Proceed by adjusting in small increments from there to find the amount of jump that your gun likes best.
True ... longer proved better over time in my rifle ..... IME.
Yosemite Steve
New member
I have a new thread on the order of things.... https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=592295
Yosemite Steve
New member
You are certainly welcome! There is never enough learned. Here is a bit I read today that I liked. I think I will try Fr. Frog's method for now.
http://www.frfrogspad.com/loaddev.htm
http://www.frfrogspad.com/loaddev.htm